Strange Night
by the1eyedtree
Summary: Please review. Omega really wants to take over the world, Vincent falls in love, and Chaos has become unexpectantly squeemish. It seems that Vincent's blood is causing Omega to act vampire-like...that can only mean that an epic adventure will happen.
1. Close Encounter

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own. But I finally got a PS3, and I downloaded FFVII from the Playstation Network! **

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There was a party. Given, he didn't really care, but he was forced to go none-the-less. Vincent stood in the corner of 7th Heaven, attempting to block out the hyper techno music that Yuffie had insisted to be played. There were a lot of lights, and it was giving him a slight headache. Cloud noticed Vincent's annoyance and changed the music to something much more mellow.

"Hey! What gives?!" Yuffie practically screamed at him.

"Quiet you," Cloud muttered as he turned off most of the colored lights.

"Hey-"

"Anyway, it's time for all of us to dance!" Tifa said as she kindly pulled Yuffie away from Cloud. Everyone joined together in pairs, except for Vincent. "Uh, Vincent?" Tifa looked at him expectantly. "Yuffie needs a partner, so you should ask her to dance."

"I'd rather not," Vincent said quietly.

"C'mon, you have to dance," Cloud said as he took Tifa's hand to dance. Vincent let out a very small sigh. Luckily, Red XIII saw Vincent's predicament and asked Yuffie to dance with him. Tifa, having noticed this sighed slightly and pulled Cloud to the center of the bar, leaving Vincent to his thoughts.

He watched everyone dance. He noticed that everything was steadily getting darker, his vision started to blur. Then, he was completely surrounded by darkness. He no longer felt Chaos's presence. Someone came up behind him and grabbed him around the waist and neck. Vincent tried to fight back, but he was suddenly turned to face his attacker. Vincent felt something sink into his neck, his eyes widened ¼ in shock and ¾ in pain.

"C-Chaos, where a-are you?" Vincent stuttered. He could feel all of his blood being drained from his body. His eyes were drooping further and further, he started to go limp. He had no more energy to fight. Vincent slipped into unconsciousness.

Omega looked down at the limp man in his arms.

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**A/N:**I hope you enjoyed! Please review!!! I want to hear anything you have to say! :)


	2. Demons

Omega gently laid Vincent on a convenient bed.

"And I thought you couldn't get any paler," a smile crept across his face. "Now, let's see what Brother has to say about this," Omega shoved his hand into Vincent's abdomen – though, no wound was formed – and pulled Chaos out, forcing Vincent's body to turn into Chaos's.

Chaos could barely keep his eyes open as he gazed up at Omega.

"What the hell do you want?" he growled, though it was pitiful. He didn't really have any energy. Omega held Chaos against a wall by his neck. Chaos gasped for breath. "Stop, Vincent can't handle anymore, he's already in limbo," he choked out.

"I don't care!" Omega said with a demonic smile. "I don't mind if you die, although, his blood was delicious…" he licked his lips.

"S-Sick…" Chaos wanted to fight back, but he couldn't even lift his arms.

"Not completely Brother," Omega squeezed his neck harder.

"Please stop, if I die, really bad things are going to happen.."

"Like what?"

"The planet will die someday, that's just the way of life. And if I die, no one can gather the life for you."

"I still don't care,"

"W-What?" Chaos was actually kind of shocked.

"When the planet dies, the life stream can just float in space for all I care!" Omega said triumphantly. Chaos groaned softly, he was slipping away, and at this rate, Vincent wouldn't be healed for quite some time.

"But, it's our destiny," Chaos whispered.

"I don't care about destiny, I will assist in the domination of the universe, so I don't have time to worry about some dead planet," he loosened his grip slightly. Chaos gave him a questioning look.

"Why did you drink Vincent's blood?" Chaos inquired.

"To satisfy my curiosity, so many people have called me a vampire, and so I wanted to test it out," Omega said while crossing his arms.

"What?!" Chaos was sure that Omega was kidding, or at least he hoped.

"I tried someone else's blood, but it was disgusting. But I had this urge to try Vincent's, and it was completely different!" Chaos was sure about one thing, Omega was insane.

"I'm confused, how did this 'satisfy you curiosity'?" asked Chaos.

"I am defiantly **not** a vampire!!!" And at this Chaos slipped back to the recesses of Vincent's mind.

…

When Vincent woke up in his room, he felt incredibly weak and no one had noticed his disappearance the night before, they all assumed that he had just gotten really drunk. And Chaos had unexpectantly become the most squeamish demon in the entire universe.


	3. Sleepover

Vincent rushed to his bathroom that was connected to his room in the 7th Heaven, and started to unbuckle his cloak. Once the cloak had fallen to the floor, he unbuckled his leather suit and pulled it so that most of his upper body was uncovered. He placed his clawed hand on the two round gashes on his neck.

"No…Chaos, what h-happened?" Vincent leaned heavily on to the counter. He felt a terror rise up in him that was far worse than even when he was shot by Hojo himself. He could feel the headache that signaled Chaos's pain. Chaos was sick and there was nothing that Vincent could do about it.

He carefully redressed himself, and made his way to the stairs, and slowly climbed down them. It was a slow day at the bar.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence," said Tifa as she continued to wash the glasses. Vincent gave her a questioning look. "You were out for a day, and my guess is that you have one hell of a hangover."

"I wasn't, nor am I drunk," Vincent held his right hand to his head in an attempt to block the ache.

"That's what they all say," Tifa muttered under her breath. If she had taken the time to actually look at him she would've been shocked. Vincent looked like a walking train wreck, nothing like the cool mysterious man that he's known to be. He stumbled outside and was blinded by the sun. He closed his eyes and waited for them to adjust, and he felt terrible and weak beyond everything that he had ever known.

Someone had to have been looking out for Vincent, or they might have just wanted Omega to loose, either way, Vincent was lucky because at that moment a certain red-headed Turk was walking past the 7th Heaven. Reno noticed Vincent's weakened state, and decided to help out the ex-turk.

Vincent opened his eyes only to find Reno raising his eyebrows at him. They locked in an odd staring contest that was cut short when Vincent practically doubled over in pain. He would've fallen to the ground had Reno not been holding on to the older man's shoulder.

"Come, you need to rest," Reno quietly said as he helped Vincent stand properly and walked him down a couple of blocks.

…

When they reached Reno's apartment, Reno helped Vincent to a couch. They looked at each other for a while.

"Shouldn't you be on some mission right now?" Vincent inquired. Reno started to laugh, but suddenly almost burst into tears.

"I-I think I've been fired," Vincent gave him a quizzical look, but Reno continued. "I-I, we, the President, he shot Tseng, killed him! And me and Elena, we ran like hell! But I don't know what happened to her, and Rude was on a mission at the time, I don't know if he's even alive, and I have no idea how I survived. Rufus went crazy, and…and, oh God it was terrible!" Reno looked like a child who had just had the scariest nightmare ever. But his story didn't make sense. Why would Rufus kill his own body guards?

"Then, shouldn't you be running away from this place?" Vincent could feel unconsciousness coming quicker and quicker.

"That'd be too obvious, yo. I made it look like I ran away, but I actually just moved here instead," Reno said while returning to the pleasant mood that he had previously been. "So what happened to you? Cause clearly you aren't drunk, yo!"

"You can tell?"

"Sure! I've heard about what you're like when you're drunk!" Vincent's eyes narrowed at that. How could Reno have heard about that incident? Cloud probably told him, even though Vincent had apologized, even if it had been three months later. But hey, better late than never, right?

"Anyways, I was attacked," Vincent said, still trying to keep upright.

"By what?" asked Reno.

"I don't know…" Vincent had thought very hard about this earlier, but no answer had come to him.

"Ah well, you should stay for the night," Reno said, noticing that the sun had started to set. Vincent gave him a strange look. "I have a guest room!" Reno said defensively. "Here, let me cook something for you to eat, you need to get your strength back, cause you look terrible, yo!" Reno ran to the kitchen and started to get random ingredients from the cabinets. Vincent managed to muster enough energy to walk to the kitchen and planted himself on to a stool. "Water?" Vincent took the offered glass and started to drink it. "You know Valentine, you need to get a girlfriend," Reno said as he mixed some things in a bowl. Vincent choked on the water that he was currently drinking. He stared at Reno with a mix of emotions. "Just a suggestion, yo!" The sound of a gun being cocked was heard by the two ex-turks.

They tensed at the eerie silence that followed.

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**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot to me! :)**


	4. Again

The two men waited for the attack, Vincent wondered if he had enough energy to withstand the impending violence. There was an explosion in the room above them, and a wall came crashing through the ceiling, separating Vincent from Reno. He rolled away from the flaming debris, and ran for the door. He had no idea where Reno had ended up. Once outside, Vincent heard more shots being fired, he hoped that none of the bullets connected with Reno. But Vincent felt the danger of the situation and kept running. When the adrenaline wore off, Vincent felt a lot of pain. He had ended up on one of the busiest streets in Edge, he slowed to a walk.

At that moment, a young girl, no older than fifteen, ran around the corner that Vincent had been walking toward. She was running fast, as if something was chasing her. Apparently she wasn't watching where she was going because she ran straight into him. The impact caused Vincent to lose his balance, and the girl skidded to the ground. Vincent had reached his limit, his body started to shut down and he slipped into unconsciousness. When he fell to the ground, his phone popped out of his pocket, and slid to the girl. She picked it up and walked over to him, she noticed that he was covered with cuts and bruises. She flipped open his phone and hit the first speed dial, and hit the talk button.

"Vincent, it's not like you to call," it was a women's voice.

"Um, May I ask who you are?" said the girl.

"I'm Tifa, but why do you have Vincent's phone?" This wasn't the first time that Tifa was called by some stranger that was using her friend's phone.

"Your friend, Vincent, he, uh, passed out,"

"Wait, what does he look like?" inquired Tifa.

"Long black hair, red cape, golden claw on his left hand, and he carries a three-barreled gun,"

"That's definitely Vince! Do you know where 7th Heaven is?"

"The bar?"

"Yeah, bring him there, please,"

"Sure thing Ms. Tifa," the girl clapped the phone shut and knelt down to pick Vincent up. She stood Vincent up and supported his weight and walked to the bar.

…

Vincent saw a lot visions while he was in the darkness. Chaos hugging some girl that had blue/grey eyes, a reenactment of his blood sucking attack, fire, lot's and lot's of fire. In the midst of all this something grabbed Vincent. It was the same being that had sucked his blood! Vincent could tell that this wasn't a dream. But when he was turned around, all that he saw was a familiar demon. It bit down on his neck like before.

"O-Omega?" Vincent stuttered.

He could feel his blood draining again. No, Vincent was not going to let this happen again. He started to fight back but Omega wasn't going to let his prey go that easily. Omega forced Vincent to the ground and placed his right hand on Vincent's neck. Omega was very heavy, and Vincent couldn't slide his way out of Omega's grip, so he improvised. Vincent put all of his strength into his hips and thrusted up, sending Omega over him. (Yes, Vincent Valentine just pelvic thrusted Omega off of him!) Vincent took this opportunity to run away from the demon. But before he could get very far, he was impaled by some sort of weapon that resembled an elaborate spear. He was now pinned to the ground. Omega pounced to Vincent's side and observed the blood that was gushing from Vincent's wound. He knelt next to Vincent and started to lick his wound. Vincent felt disgusted and oddly enough, he felt butterflies in his stomach. It didn't hurt when Omega licked him, there was the sudden temptation to just let Omega drink all of his blood, and stay with the demon forever. But Vincent cast these thoughts away and shook his head to clear it. He placed his left leg onto a part of the spear that looked like a handle and pushed as hard as he could. He managed to get himself off of the spear, and he ran for it. Omega was caught off guard by this, and Vincent had just enough time to escape, given, he had no idea where he was going. He kept running until all of the visions and fire were gone. Everything hurt ten times more than before. It took everything that he had to keep from screaming out in pain.

And when he finally opened his eyes, he locked in a stare with a girl that had blue/grey eyes.

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**A/N:**** Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You all get a cookie, or a piece of candy, your choice! **


	5. Introductions

The girl was beautiful. She had long blond hair, and gorgeous blue/grey eyes. However, Vincent didn't have much time to gaze her because he felt like he was on fire. Chaos snapped out of the dark trance that he had been in, and took over Vincent's body before he made the wound worse. Chaos held his breath so that he wouldn't scream. Cloud rushed over to him and attempted to cast a cure spell using his materia. Only the minor cuts and bruises healed, the giant gaping hole in Vincent's stomach remained. Chaos said something in the ancient language that only he and Omega knew. The wound began to glow, but then it healed. The fiery pain subsided. Chaos stood and dusted himself off.

"Uh, Vince-oh, Chaos," Cloud saw the familiar flash of yellow in his friend's crimson eyes. Chaos hadn't completely transformed, so he still looked like Vincent. Tifa came back to the room where they were located.

"Cloud, there's something on the news that you need to see," she said while everyone fallowed her back to the front of the bar of the bar. She turned up the volume on the television.

"No one knows what caused the explosion; some sources say that it was caused by a gas leak. Shinra troops have been deployed to investigate the destruction," said a brown haired woman reporter, behind her stood the smoking remains of an apartment building.

"That place looks familiar," Chaos thought to himself. "I think that Valentine knows that place," Chaos said aloud as he crossed his arms and tried to find Vincent's memory.

"What do you mean?" asked Cloud.

"Something about that place is familiar," Chaos answered. He was starting to feel quite weak. "Valentine needs some blood, anybody know where I could get some?" Chaos looked at the gawking faces that were staring him down. "Whoa, whoa! I'm no vampire!" he yelled defensively, causing most of the customers to turn around. "I need, like, a blood packet," Chaos muttered quietly.

"Reeve might have some," Cloud said as he pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" Reeve answered.

"Reeve, I have a favor for you," Cloud said.

"Cloud it's been awhile,"

"Yeah I know, but someone wants to talk to you," Cloud handed his phone to Chaos.

"Hello," Chaos calmly greeted.

"Vincent?" Reeve asked slightly confused. Chaos sighed.

"Nope," Chaos said using his real voice.

"Ahh!...sorry, uh, Chaos was it?" Reeve had never heard such a sound before.

"Yes, I am in need of some blood, do you have any packets that you don't need?" Chaos said using Vincent's voice again.

"Uh, yeah, but you'll have to come to Junon," Reeve was trying to regain his breath after Chaos's little intro.

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Chaos hit the end button and tossed the phone back to Cloud. "We need to get to Junon now," Chaos looked at Cloud and the girl. "By the way, what's your name?" he inquired.

"My name is Tess," said the girl.

"Come on then, you're coming with us," Chaos smiled at her. Cloud was amazed at this sight, since Vincent never smiled.

"But we don't have a ride," Cloud observed. But again, someone was watching out for them, because at that moment Yuffie Kisaragi walked into the 7th Heaven.

**A/N:**** R&R please! **


	6. Road Trip

"Sup guys!" greeted the ninja.

"Hi, Yuffie!" Chaos leaped over to her and leaned in close.

"Holy crap! Vinnie," Yuffie looked slightly frightened. Chaos only crossed his arms and pouted.

"How many times am I gonna get mistaken for Valentine?"

"Well to be fair, you do look like him," stated Cloud.

"Yeah but you'd think that people would notice the sudden change in personality!" Chaos's arms were up in the air, so he let them drop.

"Uh…uh..what?!" Yuffie yelled at Chaos.

"I'm Chaos dummy!" he said using his voice again.

"Whoa!" she stared at him for a second. "Wait, what's going on?" she inquired.

"We need to get to Junon, do you have transportation?" said Cloud. Yuffie held up some keys.

"I have a van that Reeve let me borrow."

"We'll take it!" Chaos said as he reached for the keys.

"I'll drive," Cloud said, taking the keys.

"Just don't wreck it, okay?" said Yuffie as she jumped over to Tifa.

"Be safe!" Tifa said as she waved to them. Cloud, Tess, and Chaos walked out into the street, easily finding their ride. The sun was getting lower, and lower on the horizon. It would be twilight soon. Cloud climbed into the driver's seat, placing his abnormally huge buster sword in the passenger's seat. Chaos and Tess climbed into the back.

"Geez Cloud, do you have to bring that thing with you?" inquired Chaos.

"What if we get attacked?" Cloud said as he looked back at Chaos.

"In a van?"

"It could happen!" Cloud said as he turned on the vehicle.

"How long does it take to get to Junon?" asked Tess.

"Four hours," stated Chaos.

"Interesting," she muttered.

"So, where are you from?" asked Cloud.

"A small town far away from here, but it was destroyed," answered Tess.

"By who?" asked Chaos.

"Soldiers of the darkness, rouges of the light," Tess closed her eyes, as if to block a painful memory.

"Who?"

"They came and slaughtered everyone that they saw, burning buildings, torturing babies, it was terrible. Then, they grabbed my arms, and dragged me out of that town,"

"But how did you did you end up in Edge?" asked Cloud.

"That's the thing, I don't remember," Tess said as she opened her eyes.

"Sounds like Shinra to me," Cloud muttered.

"What's Shinra?" asked Tess. Cloud almost stopped the car.

"What do you mean 'what's Shinra'?!" he yelled.

"Calm down Cloud, there is a world past Shinra," Chaos while leaning back in his seat.

"Um…what?" Tess said quietly.

"Shinra's this big company that screwed everyone over!" Cloud gripped the steering wheel to the point where it should have broken.

"Oh," she closed her eyes again.

"Do you have a family?" asked Cloud.

"My parents died when I was very, very young, and I don't have any siblings,"

"So you have no family or home?" asked Cloud.

"I've got nothing," she said in reply.

"Then you can stay with us," said Cloud.

"Really?"

"It may be a little while before you have a complete room, but we'll make it work," Cloud smiled at her.

"Thank you," she said returning the smile. Chaos studied her for a moment.

"Can you fight?" he asked.

"Yes," she said looking up at him. He leaned in close to her.

"Are you afraid?" he asked using his own.

"No," she stayed where she was, which slightly amazed Chaos since most people back away when he gets that close. He smiled at her and she nodded.

"By the way, why were you running earlier?" he asked remembering her and Vincent's collision.

"I was escaping the dark soldiers," she looked down, remembering the horrors of the past couple of days, or at least some of the horrors. It was silent the rest of the ride, except for the part where Cloud got lost. Chaos laughed at him, and received a vicious glare that only made him laugh harder. When they finally arrived, they were greeted by a frazzled looking Reeve.

"What blood type do you need?" he asked.

"A," Chaos said as they followed Reeve back to a private room.

"This is Elise," Reeve said as he introduced a young woman that was wearing a lab coat. He held up a blood packet.

"I need a bowl, some mako, an empty IV pack, and some syringes," listed Chaos. The woman, Elise, brought out everything except for the mako. Reeve ran to some storage room and came back with a cylindrical canister. "Thank you," Chaos said as he laid the items on a table. However, as he poured the blood out of the packet, he froze. Images from when Omega first attacked Vincent flowed through his mind. He couldn't hear everyone calling his name. He then felt someone pulling him away from the bowl. It was Tess.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly. He shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. "What do I need to do?" she inquired.

"Mix in the mako," he said, turning away from the bowl.

"Next?" asked Tess after the mako had been mixed. Chaos held out his arm.

"Draw my blood," he closed his eyes. Tess picked up a syringe and studied it.

"Allow me," said Elise as she took the syringe. She drew Chaos's blood and was slightly shocked that it was black.

"Put it in the bowl," he muttered. Tess took the syringe and emptied it into the bowl.

"Is that it?" asked Tess.

"I don't suppose anyone has any JENOVA cells," everyone looked at each other, Tess had a questioning look on her face. "Could someone put the mixture into the IV, thing, please," Chaos closed his eyes again. Elise poured the liquid into the IV packet and hooked it up to Chaos. "If you need me, just say my name," he said.

"What asked Cloud. Chaos opened his eyes.

"I have to make sure that Valentine doesn't reject the blood," he closed his eyes again and concentrated on regeneration.

"So does anyone know what's going on here?" asked Reeve.

"Not really," answered Cloud. Tess suddenly tensed and drew out a couple of knives.

**A/N:**** Sorry for the wait! Please R&R!! **


	7. Dreams

**A/N: ****Sorry for the wait, between working on a tessellation project and actually playing FFVII, my writing time has been short, so enjoy! **

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Tess stood in a battle stance waiting for the attack. Shadows swirled all around her and tried to slice through her, but she dodged everything.

"Cloud!" she said as she threw a knife at his face.

"What the?!" he said as he was about to duck, but the knife stopped right before it connected with his face. He felt an odd warmish liquid splash on to his cheek. A soldier clad in darkness fell to the floor right in front of the blond. Cloud noticed that there were many more of these soldiers. They were surrounded.

Chaos had moved to the physical part of Vincent and was busy healing the man when he sensed the attack.

"Gigas! Wake Valentine up," Chaos shouted.

"But he's completely out of it!" Death Gigas shouted back.

"Then pull him out of his subconscious!" Chaos tried to keep focused on healing Vincent, but found it difficult because of the odd sounds that were coming from Vincent's mind. Death Gigas managed to wake Vincent up but failed to explain what was currently happening. Instead, he just pushed Vincent into the physical world. Vincent opened his eyes and noticed that he was attached to an IV.

"What the?"he thought, but then he noticed the action that was happening around him. The same girl from before jumped in front of him and sliced some shadow in half. She looked so graceful. She turned around and noticed that he was awake. Vincent noticed that Cloud had his sword out, but the battle was already over. Vincent pulled the IV out of his arm and winced at the small fiery pain that shot through his arm. He stood. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Um," Cloud looked almost as confused as Vincent.

"Where?" Vincent said.

"Junon," Reeve said as he walked back into the room.

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"Chaos," Cloud answered.

**. . .**

They all piled back into the van for the return trip.

"So, what were those things that attacked us?" Cloud asked.

"Soldiers of the darkness," said Tess.

"Oh," Cloud sighed as he continued to drive.

"How do you feel?" asked Tess.

"Fine," Vincent replied.

"I suggest that you two sleep since it will be a while before we arrive in Edge," said Cloud.

Vincent and Tess agreed and were instantly unconscious. Although, Tess was the only one who was legitimately tired. Vincent just wanted some answers.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked Chaos.

"Well," Chaos explained everything that happened since Vincent was attacked by Omega the second time. Vincent stared at the demon.

"What do we do?"

"About what?" asked Chaos.

"About Omega, and those soldier things!" Vincent shot back at him.

"Oh. Well Omega's insane, and unless you can come up with some demonic therapist or something, there isn't really anything I can do. And as for those soldiers, ask Tess," Chaos crossed his arms and stretched out his wings. "But for now, rest Valentine, just rest," Vincent didn't like the idea of going back to sleep, but he knew better then to mess with Chaos. He slipped into real unconsciousness.

Oddly enough, Vincent and Tess had the exact same dream. Flames everywhere, them hugging, stars surrounding them, and then, they saw Omega grinning at them. His grin was a warning of death. Then everything went black…

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**A/N:**** Again, sorry for the wait! Please R&R, I like hearing what people have to say!**


	8. Different

**A/N:**** Sorry for the wait, really sorry!**

Vincent opened his eyes. He could see the remains of Midgar in the distance. They were only a couple of miles away from Edge. Tess was still asleep. Vincent pondered about his dream. Was it just a dream? He hadn't been attacked again, so was Omega's warning just a figment of his imagination? He hadn't realized they were in Edge until Cloud parked the van. Vincent looked at Tess and he could tell that this was the first time she had slept in days. Cloud opened Vincent's door and raised his eyebrow at him.

"You owe me an explanation," he said as he strapped his buster sword to his back. Vincent looked back at Tess, he decided not to wake her up. He carried her to the bar. She looked so pale in the moonlight. Vincent walked up to his room and laid her onto his bed.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

**. . .**

Vincent had just gotten to his favorite part of his favorite book when Tess's eyes flitted open. She sat up, slightly unsure of where she was. Her eyes were on Vincent in an instant.

"Where?" she asked.

"7th Heaven, my room," Vincent replied.

"Oh," she closed her eyes for a second as if to clear her head.

"How do you feel?" he inquired.

"Fine, thank you," she said smiling at him. He nodded in return. Cloud suddenly opened the door.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"About sixteen seconds," Tess said. Cloud let out a sigh of relief, he was glad that he hadn't missed anything.

"How do you feel?" he asked, but before she could say anything, her stomach growled and answered for her. "Hungry?" Cloud said, and Tess nodded. "I'll get you something!" Cloud dashed down to the first floor of the building.

"Is he normally like that?" inquired Tess.

"No," answered Vincent. Cloud suddenly appeared in the doorway again.

"Do you like cheese?" he asked.

"Yes," Tess answered. Cloud nodded and ran down the stairs again.

"Should we be worried?" Tess asked Vincent.

"I wouldn't," he said, walking over to her. He sat next to her on the bed and locked in a stare.

"This place is different," Tess said without breaking eye contact. Vincent was about to respond when Cloud came through the door with a tray of assorted foods

"Here you go!" Cloud smiled and set the tray down next to her.

"Whoa, um, thank you!" Tess said while quickly bowing slightly.

"You're welcome!" Cloud said as he sat down next to Vincent. It wasn't until Tess saw the food that she realized that she hadn't eaten in days. She started to scarf it all down.

"Cloud, Vincent, get down here!" Tifa yelled. The two men glanced at each other, then at Tess.

"We'll be back," Cloud said as he and Vincent ran out the door. What they saw amazed them, and it took Vincent a couple of seconds to realize that the bloody mass in front of him was Reno.

**A/N:**** Hope you enjoyed! Again, sorry for the wait! Please R&R! **


	9. Rejection

**A/N:**** Sorry for the wait! Oh yeah, I haven't done this in a while, DISCLAIMER: I own very little…**

Vincent blinked a couple of times. He knelt down and lifted Reno slightly. Cloud wasn't sure what was going on, he grabbed his sword and aimed it at Reno.

"Don't," Vincent said as he looked up at Cloud.

"But he's-,"

"Leave him alone," Vincent glared at Cloud, his crimson stare frightened Cloud more than even Sephiroth. The blond backed off. "Does anyone have a cure materia?"

"Yes," Tifa said as she handed the orb to Vincent who then proceeded to heal the red-head.

"But he's a Turk," Cloud said as he crossed his arms.

"Ex," Vincent muttered.

"Hm?" Cloud lifted his head slightly.

"Reno is an Ex-Turk now,"

"Are you sure?" Tifa inquired. Vincent stopped what he was doing and looked her straight in the eye.

"Yes."

"Oh," she took the materia and pocketed it as Vincent propped Reno up. The red-head moaned a little and opened his eyes.

"Hey Valentine, you're still alive!" he said as he started to fall forward slightly. Vincent caught him before his face connected to the floor.

"Yeah, but what happened to you?" Vincent asked.

"Shinra happened! I was lucky enough to get out alive," Reno said as he drank the potion that Tifa had offered him. The group watched as the rest of his wounds healed. "Ah, that's better! Thank you!"

**. . .**

Over the next couple of days everyone's lives began to fall in to a normal rhythm. Reno was living with Yuffie for the moment and Tess now had her very own room in the 7th Heaven. Vincent's health improved and so did Chaos's mood. The demon was actually happy but Vincent didn't know why. Vincent, being loaded with gil, bought Tess a phone so that if any problems ever arose when he wasn't around she could call him, or someone else. The rest of AVALANCHE seemed to be very accepting of Tess. In fact they were all very quick to plan a dinner party. Yuffie and Reno were at the bar the next morning and helped Tifa cook the feast. Yuffie kept giving Vincent odd looks; she would smile then turn back to Tifa and giggle. He wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, nor did he care. His main objective at that moment was to move the tables around and keep costumers out.

"I'm not sure if I like the way that Yuffie keeps looking at you," Chaos muttered.

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked in his mind.

"She likes you, and I don't like it," Chaos pouted slightly. Vincent sighed and ignored the demon.

"Hey Vincent, can you and Yuffie run to the market really quick?" Tifa said as Yuffie jumped over the bar and ran up to him holding a hastily written list in her hand. Vincent nodded and the two left the bar. They quickly arrived at the market and bought the needed items. As they were walking back Yuffie attempted to start a conversation.

"So Vinnie-"

"Don't call me that,"

"Oh, alright, um, do you like anyone?" she was blushing ever so slightly. Vincent wasn't fond of the subject so he didn't respond. Yuffie tried again. "I like someone, but I think he's lost," she looked at him with a mix of concern and something else etched on her face. Vincent knew Chaos had been right. "So do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Like anyone?"

"My love life is none of your concern Yuffie," he said it a little harsher then he had meant to. Yuffie turned to face him, they both halted their walk.

"Is that because you like me-"

"No, I don't have those kind of feelings for you," Yuffie stepped in front of him.

"It's her isn't it? You like her!" Yuffie had a few tears welling up in her eyes. Vincent didn't answer he just tried to step around her. But something stopped him. Her hand unexpectedly connected with his face. The slap stung but it didn't really hurt. Vincent sent her a glare without turning his head, she huffed and ran off. He honestly didn't care where she went. He stood there holding the groceries, attempting to control his anger. His phone started to ring. Sighing, he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Vincent, are you alright?" it was Tess.

"Yes, but what's going on?"

"Oh um, I just had a weird feeling,"

"What?"

"Nevermind, just hurry okay?" she hung up before he could respond.

What the hell was going on? He didn't have an answer for this.

**A/N:**** Hope you enjoyed! And sorry for the wait, I was really, really busy. Please R&R! **


	10. Dinner

**A/N:**** Hey! Sorry for the wait, summer is almost here! **** yay! Anyways thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, it means a lot to me! **

Vincent sat at the bar, sipping on some drink Tifa had insisted he try, watching people nervously move around him. Yuffie wasn't back yet and for that he was grateful. Tess sat next to him, drawing. She seemed very determined not to let anyone see her creation. It was starting to drizzle and the sky held a lot of promise for storms. Thunder rolled quietly in the distance. A very small smile crept across Tess's face.

_This kid is so strange._ Vincent thought to himself. _She's so bright, yet she's not very fond of bright weather. Why is that?_ Vincent pondered this, loosing himself in his thoughts, while his fingers endlessly traced the rim of the cup he held in his right hand. It was only the odd sound of the back door opening and slamming that aroused him from this state. A very wet Yuffie was talking to a very confused Tifa. Cloud slowly walked over to the two ladies and wrapped his arms around Tifa who was listening to the frantic whispering that was being spoken by the ninja. Cloud sighed and said something that Vincent couldn't hear. Tifa told Yuffie to go dry off and come back for dinner. Apparently the food was ready. Cloud walked back behind the bar and announced that everyone should take a seat at the table. Tess quickly shut her sketch book and glanced at Vincent. He nodded and the two moved to the rather large table that everyone had gathered around. The meal progressed and everyone got to know Tess. Everything seemed to finally be at peace, and almost even blissful. Until the sound of a gunshot mixed in with a rather loud roll of thunder. Vincent and Cloud stood at the same instant locking in a stare.

"Did you hear that?" it was Reno who asked this. It was then that everyone rushed to the door. Vincent ran out first, Cerberus held high in the air. Cloud followed, sword at the ready. Their attention was drawn to someone who was struggling to walk. Reno poked his head out the door and saw the figure. "Elena?" he said. The figure looked up and it was indeed the blond turk.

"Re-" she was cut off by a gunshot. The bullet zoomed from the barrel of the sniper rifle and connected with her head. Her body fell slowly backwards.

A perfect, clean headshot.

Vincent aimed but it was way too stormy and dark to find the shooter. Cloud stood there, slightly in shock, but tensed as he realized that more shots were being fired. One zoomed past him and would've hit Reno had Tess not pulled him back.

"Here!" she said as she pushed him at the rest of AVALANCHE and dashed outside. "More are coming," she said when Vincent gave her a look of disapproval. And she was right, more did come. Shadows swirled around them and formed figures that looked like soldiers. Vincent started shooting, Cloud started swinging, and Tess leaped around; impaling enemies with various knives. The soldiers were hard to kill, one managed to get around Tess and punch and/or stab her in her abdomen. She collapsed and the shadows faded away. Vincent ran over to her and picked her up, he then moved her inside. She opened her eyes.

"It's okay, I'm fine," she said motioning for him to put her down. He obeyed, and she started to walk over to a very shocked Reno but fell to the ground and almost screamed out in pain. Odd, glowing marks pulsated throughout her body. Vincent ran to her side as she fell backwards, grimacing. Her shirt fell a little, uncovering the area around her belly button. There was a very odd looking bruise. He had never seen such a thing. Cloud looked over Vincent's shoulder.

"What the?" the blond backed away a bit. "Cait?" The robotic cat walked over to Vincent and seemed to be a little spooked by Tess's condition.

"Where's Reeve?" The crimson eyed man asked the cat.

"The outer edge of Midgar, I think," answered Cait Sith.

"Tell him we're coming," Vincent responded as he picked up the trembling girl.

"Fennrir is the fastest way," Cloud said.

"Meet us there," Vincent said as he walked out the back door.

"Vincent?" But Cloud's questions were answered when Vincent turned into his Chaos form. Vincent took off and flew through the rain, Cloud not far behind.

**A/N:**** I know I keep apologizing but again, sorry for the wait. I hope you're enjoying the story, and trust me, there's A LOT more to come, so keep reading and reviewing **


	11. Ouch

**A/N:**** Sorry for the wait, I had momentary writer's block….but I'm back! **

Tess shifted uneasily in Vincent's arms. She was still conscious, but Vincent wished she could sleep. At least that might ease some of the pain. Her breath was coming in sharp bursts and this worried him. He kept flying and tried to move faster. He glanced at the girl in his arms. She was trembling, and grimacing, the odd glowing marks were pulsating more and more. Vincent finally caught sight of Reeve's Midgar office. He quickly landed and burst through the doors, not bothering to change back to is human form. Reeve and the receptionist next to him gave small gasps of both horror and shock. Reeve was about to face-palm at the thought of Chaos going on some horrific killing spree, but Vincent turned back to his own form.

"Cloud called and said you'd be here, and Cait Sith said something about a girl?" Reeve raised his eyebrows.

"Please, she needs help, and I don't know what to do!" Vincent begged as he made his way to Reeve. The latter had never seen the crimson eyed man in such state.

"Um….I can try," Reeve said as he walked over and examined Tess. She seized up in pain and let a quiet yell. Reeve had no idea what he was looking at, what the heck were those marks all over her body?

"Well?" Vincent asked.

"I don't know…." Reeve said wide-eyed. Elise walked out of the medical part of the building and was a little surprised to see that they had gests this late.

"What's going on?" she inquired.

"I'm not entirely sure," said Reeve as Else walked over to Vincent and Tess.

"Let me see," she said as she looked at Tess. "Hm…I've seen this before! Come with me," she said as she made her way back to the medical wing.

"Wait, you have?"Reeve said a bit shocked.

"It's a really severe allergic reaction to Mako energy, probably caused by a materia," Elise stated as she pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Can you heal her?" Vincent asked as he quickly followed the young scientist.

"I can try," Elise said as she spun around and looked him dead in the eyes. "Please, sit," she motioned to a chair that was much like a dentist's. Vincent obeyed and situated Tess to where Elise could properly access her. Elise pulled Tess's shirt up enough to uncover only the wound. She poked around a bit until Tess let another cry of pain. "Hold her still," Elise said, pulling her hair back away from her face. She then placed her fingers where the materia had been placed. She took a deep breath. "You're going to have to hold her down."

"What?" Vincent didn't like the sound of this.

"This is going to hurt her…..a lot," Elise looked at Vincent, and he swallowed slowly and nodded. Elise made her hand into a point and thrust it into Tess's stomach. Tess screamed. It was the most terrible, horrifying, painful scream Vincent had ever heard. He had to use almost all of his strength to hold her. Elise grimaced as she slowly pulled out the materia. When it was out Tess gasped and let out a long breath she opened her eyes and looked around.

"Hello," she said quietly. Vincent just looked at her. "What?"

"You're bleeding, a lot," said Vincent. Tess looked down.

"Well look at that," she smirked.

"Allow me," Elise said as she began to quickly heal Tess. "Drink," She handed Tess a potion, which she eagerly drank. The hole in her abdomen turned into a scar."Better?"

"Very," Tess said with a smile, then she looked up at Reeve. "You have a very amazing assistant," she motioned to Elise who smiled.

Reeve laughed a little and nodded. "Why yes, I do."

**A/N:**** I know, it's short, but there's more coming **** don't worry! Anyways read and review please!**


	12. Nightmare Equals Bad

**A/N:**** Sorry for the wait, I'm trying to write when time permits, which isn't very often. But I hope you enjoy, and please review! Please, please, please,**_** please **_**review, I'll give you a digital pie! **

Vincent looked at Tess, a little frightened at her smile. Her wound was nothing but a scar now, but she had just been screaming out in pain only moments before. Elise sat, gazing at the materia that she had just extracted from Tess. It was just a little fire materia, how could that've done that much damage? She figured that Tess was extraordinarily lucky to be alive.

Cloud burst through the doors of the room where the rest of them were. His eyes scanned the room, and he let out a small sigh of relief.

"Is everything alright?" asked the blond.

"I think so," answered Elise.

"Good," Cloud walked over to Vincent and Tess.

"Any word on Reno," asked Tess.

"I think he's in a state of shock at the moment," answered Cloud.

"Then let's go back and see him," Tess said as she stood up.

"But-" Vincent stood, but Elise cut him off.

"She's okay, the wound healed. If something happens, just call, and we'll take care of it."

Vincent inwardly sighed and nodded.

"Will you be flying again?" inquired Cloud. Vincent nodded again. He figured that the tree of them couldn't all fit on Fennrir at once. Vincent, Tess, and Cloud then set off for the 7th Heaven.

**. . .**

They arrived within seconds of each other. Tess ran into the bar right as she and Vincent touched the ground. Cloud and Vincent ran after her and were met by stares of shock from the rest of AVALANCHE. Then everyone's attention was drawn to Tess as she knelt next to Reno. His eyes were wide and he was trembling. Tess whispered something in his ear and he slowly turned and looked at her. They stared at each other for a few moments and then Reno moved for the first time since the incident. He raised his arms and hugged Tess. Everyone was a little surprised.

"Vincent, a little help please," she said as she started to stand Reno up. Vincent went over to her and helped walk Reno over to a couch in the back room of the bar. They laid him down and he was instantly asleep.

"So everything's okay?" Tifa asked Cloud as Vincent and Tess reentered the room.

"For the moment," answered the spiky bond.

"I vote we talk about all of this in the morning, cause I'm tired," Yuffie said as she stood. Everyone agreed and suddenly Vincent and Tess were alone. Tess was a little surprised at how fast the room had cleared out.

"How do you feel?" inquired Vincent.

"Quite fine," Tess said as she walked over to the kitchen, but on the way she seemed to have lost her balance and she started to fall forward. Vincent rushed over and caught her, she looked up at him. She looked exhausted.

"When was the last time you slept?" he asked.

"About two days ago," she said. Vincent's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Why?"

"I've been having nightmares, but not normal ones. When my nightmares begin, they don't end. I can't wake up on my own, someone else has to wake me up. And that's not the worst part, my nightmares have a bad habit of predicting the future," Tess looked pretty frightened, but Vincent knew she needed to sleep.

"I promise I won't leave your side, if you start having a nightmare, I'll wake you up," Tess looked as if she were about to object, but he just picked her up and carried her to his room where he laid her in his bed and sat down.

"Just don't leave," Tess said as she quickly fell asleep.

**. . .**

There was so much darkness. But there was a light, a very small fire. It was a sad fire, but then it became angry and began to spread and destroy everything within its reach. Chains started to grow out of the ground like vines. Then suddenly the chains jumped. They latched on to a girl. They pulled her down. Tess tried to scream as the chains held her there. She could see the rest of AVALANCHE, they were running from the flame. One by one they were devoured by it, their screams of pain and horror lashed out at Tess like a new flame. She couldn't stop their pain no matter how hard she tried. Then she saw Vincent. He was standing on a hill above the flame, he locked in a stare with her. He suddenly tensed as something hit him from behind.

"No!" screamed Tess as it started to rain, but it wasn't water that was falling, it was blood. The same crimson liquid trickled down Vincent's chin. He fell to his knees. And who was standing behind him? Omega, who licked his lips at the sight of the blood.

**. . .**

Vincent could tell from her sweat and tensed body that Tess was having a nightmare. He started to call her name, and he shook her slightly. She still didn't wake, so he shook her harder and she abruptly woke up and jumped into his arms. It took her a second to realize what was going on. She started to sob.

"What did you see?" Vincent asked as he held her close.

"Death, everyone….died."

**A/N:**** I hope you enjoyed, and please review, ****feedback = more chapters**** ;) **


	13. Unexpected Birthdays

**A/N: Heeey! Yeah I know, it's been forever...but I'm back...Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, though that would be amazing. Anywho, enjoy, and Review Please!**

* * *

"I don't want you to die," Tess whispered through the tears. Vincent pulled her so that they could talk face to face. Then he almost smiled; the corners of his lips ever so slightly rose.

"But I can not die," he said. She looked up at him, confused. "You're talking to the man who always heals, I've litterly been blown completely apart, into microscopic bits," he grimaced at that. "But I'm still here, I came back and I always will come back," he pulled her in to a tight hug.

"And it's all thanks to me," Chaos said in the back of Vincent's mind. Tess shot up, her eyes narrowing as she did so.

"Who said that?" She inquired, but Vincent just gave her a decently confused look.

"It was I," Chaos said as he crossed his arms. Tess looked around the room.

"Can you hear me?" he inquired.

"Yes," she said as Vincent turned to Chaos with a questioning look etched on his face. "Chaos?"

"Yep," this is definitely interesting, thought Chaos, Tess nodded and dried most of the tears from her face, accepting this.

"Wait you're fine with this?" Vincent asked a little horrified. I wonder if she can her me, thought Vincent. Tess blushed and looked away. You can hear me can't you.

Yeah, Tess thought, but just as she was about to actually reply, Vincent's eyes widened. They stared at each other. Chaos started laughing.

"Look at you two, being all mind reader-like!" he said in his hysteric fit.

But at that moment an alarm clock went off. They heard a loud crash and a groan. Cloud, who had crushed the innocent clock groaned at the thought of having to buy a new one. Maybe Cid could build an indestructible one. He slowly got up and turned to see a very disapproving Tifa. Cloud sighed and hugged her before going downstairs to get ready for the day, Tifa followed, shaking her head and laughing to herself.

In the other room, Tess looked at her watch, apparently it was 6:30 in the morning. Who knew? Vincent expectantly put his hand on her face and wiped the rest of her tears away with his thumb. They stared at each other for a moment before silently agreeing that they should get ready for the day.

. . .

"What's the date?" asked Tess who had just realized that she hadn't known the date for quite some time.

"Uhhh...July 10th," replied Barrett.

Whoa, Tess thought. Vincent, who was next to her, looked up.

"Today's your birthday?" he asked, having heard her thoughts.

"Yeah," she said a little surprised.

"Whoa, birthday alert!" Yuffie said as she bounced over. "How old are ya now?"

"Um...16 I guess," said Tess.

"Well, let's make this the best sweet-sixteen ever!" said Cid as he clapped his hands together.

. . .

After having a decently big breakfast, all of AVALANCHE, and Marlene and Denzel, piled on to Cid's airship. Tess was very excited, as this was her first time to fly. They were headed to Costa del Sol to spend the day and night. While everyone else got situated on the ship, Vincent gave Tess a tour. After exploring the entire lower deck, he took her up to the highest point that looked over the whole ship. It was absolutely beautiful there.

"Just do it," Chaos said to Vincent who tried to punch him in an attempt to shut him up. Tess heard this, but tried not to actually listen, she didn't want to be an eavesdropper. Vincent sighed then walked over to her.

"So what do you want for your birthday?" he asked. Tess shyly looked away and tried to control her smiled slightly, he was thinking the same thing. Using his right hand, he pulled her face to his. Their lips touched, and metaphorical sparks flew. They wrapped their arms around each other and continued.

. . .

They managed to make it back to the lower deck before anyone became suspicious. Luckily everyone was too concentrated on landing to notice that both Tess and Vincent were blushing quite a bit. Once on the ground, everyone headed for the inn. Cloud, being the smart, sometimes observant leader he was,got enough rooms so that he and Tifa had their own room, Barret, Marlene,and Denzel had their room, Cid his own room, he got a room for Yuffie and Red XIII, and a room for Vincent and Tess, They spent the rest of the day visiting shops and swimming. Cloud formally inducted Tess into AVALANCHE by tieing a red ribbon on her arm. There was much rejoicing. That night at the inn, Vincent decided to talk to his demons while Tess was in the shower. Death Gigas was the first to speak.

"I do NOT approve," he said hostilely.

"I don't need your approval," Vincent replied coldly.

"Anybody but her,"

"What do you have against Tess?" said a fairly ticked Chaos. Death Gigas let out a low growl earned him a glare from Chaos.

"He is three times her age," he said as he pointed to Vincent.

"That doesn't matter," both Chaos and Vincent said at the same time.

"I hate her,"

Vincent napped, he ran at Death Gigas with everything he had. He tackled the demon, and started punching and tearing at him. The demon was surprised that the man had such strength. Hellmaskerand Gallian quickly jumped and held Chaos back. Back in reality Vincent fell against the outer wall of the room and closed his eyes, a bead of sweat rolled down his face, but in his head he was rolling around and attacking Death Gigas.

Tess walked out of the bathroom and noticed this. She rushed over and took Vincent's hand in hers.

"Vincent?" she asked. He opened his eyes and shuddered slightly. Chaos dragged Death Gigas to the very back of Vincent's mind and took Hellmasker's chainsaw with him. Tess hugged Vincent in an effort to comfort him. He calmed, then kissed her head, and went to lay on the bed. Tess understood and turned off all of the lights. She hopped into the bed and was a little surprised when he pulled her close,and wrapped his arms around her, not that she was complaining. They both drifted off to sleep. Luckily Tess didn't have any nightmares, and Vincent could hear Death Gigas screaming out in pain, and he couldn't help but smile at the demon's fate.

* * *

**A/N: So how was it? I want to hear your thought's on it, I am capable of writing more fluff, but if you don't want me to then I won't, so tell me if fluff is okay with you :) reviews = more chapters and happieness**


	14. Crimson Flames

**A/N:**** I am sorry that I took forever to upload, my life has been the epitome of hectic and writer's block. But I finally managed to get a chapter out! Please, I know it's been forever, but please, please, please, please, please, please, please review this chapter, It would help me write the rest! Anywho, enjoy!**

Vincent's eyes opened. He didn't know why he had awoken, but another distant roll of thunder answered his question.

"Vincent?" he could feel Tess roll over to face him. "Whoa, it's really dark," she shook her head and tried to look around, but the room was completely black.

_This is the darkest I've seen in quite some time,_ thought Vincent. He could feel her hands searching around the sheets, and he grabbed one of them and pulled it up to his chest. She smiled even though neither of them could see, despite Vincent's enhancements. Somehow in the dark, their lips managed to meet, and they pulled closer to each other. Vincent slowly kissed down her jaw line and then back up again. They pulled away just as a flash of lighting lightened the room, they could finally see each other's smiles. They kissed again, but this time his tongue traced around the inner edge of her lips. He could feel her smile as she opened her mouth a little wider and pulled even closer to his body. Her hands ran up and down – almost in a circular motion – his smooth, muscular, yet thin chest and abdomen, while his hands ran down and caressed the center of her back. One of her hands started to undo each of the clasps that kept his cloak on; he smiled and let the clothing slide down his shoulders.

CRACK

They both shot up, the room was suddenly filled with an orange light. Vincent, while pulling his cloak back on, tore open the blinds of the window and stared at the blazing sight before him.

"Could it have been the lightning?" inquired Tess.

"One strike wouldn't have spread the flames that far," he said as he quickly turned around. They silently agreed that they needed to wake everyone else up. They ran through the hallway of the inn, banging on their companions' doors as they did so.

"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" shouted a very tired Cid.

"Costa del Sol is going up in flames," stated Vincent as everyone ran outside. Rain stung his face as soon as he exited the building. Fire was everywhere. A raging headache grew out of nowhere and Vincent placed his right hand on his forehead, grimacing as he did so.

"Wake up. Come on Chaos, wake up!" he shouted through his mind. The demon moaned and staggered out of the darkness.

"What's going on?" he inquired.

"Everything's on fire," answered Vincent.

"Oh." Vincent shook his head; the demon wasn't going to be much help. He caught sight of Cloud who was staring at the terror that was now Costa de Sol. His eyes were wide with horror. Vincent ran up to him.

"Cloud?" the blond shuddered, this might have been the most scared that Vincent had ever seen him.

"I-it's just like Nibelheim all over again…" Cloud looked as if he might be sick. But Vincent's headache grew again, causing him to stagger back a few steps. Tess ran up to him.

"Vincent!" she shouted over the roar of both the fire and the rain. She grabbed his right hand and held it in both of hers. He opened his eyes again but he winced again as an icy voice echoed through his mind.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Omega?" Vincent's head shot up, but the voice was gone. Just as Vincent opened his eyes, a strike of lightning crashed all around him, Tess, and Cloud. They were thrown to the ground.

**. . .**

"Cloud!"

"Vincent?"

"Hey Gunslinger!"

"Yo Spiky!"

"Uhh…Tess?"

Everyone's voices began to separate in Vincent's mind. Tifa ran over to Cloud and wrapped her arms around him. He sat up an shuddered again.

"What happened? Cloud?" she sounded worried.

"I-it was, it was l-like…..Nibelheim…" his eyes were wide again.

"Nibelheim? Cloud, we're in Costa del Sol."

"No, the f-fire…it was him, he's back!" his voice cracked on that last word and he sounded like a vulnerable child.

"I think the lightning musta actually made contact with you man," stated Barret.

"No he has a point," said Tess as she sat up. Everyone turned to face her. "The flames, they didn't burn any of the buildings, but there was a man. He had this really long sword…" she sounded bewildered, true they had been struck by lightning, but her thoughts were actually coherent. Her eyes were half open and she was slouched over, but she looked like she knew what she was talking about. Vincent finally found the strength to open his eyes.

"Sephiroth was here," he quietly stated.

"Whoa, you musta hit your head!" yelled Yuffie as she jumped back and pointed at him. Tess meekly crawled over to him.

"Was that his name?" she asked, and he weakly nodded.

"I don't know what happened to you guys, but there was only a grass fire," said Tifa. Vincent sat up and glared at her.

"No, Sephiroth is back, and he's not alone. Omega is rising Rufus is up to something, and Sephiroth is causing destruction once again," he was glaring at everyone except for Tess and Cloud.

"Omega's not back is he?" asked Cid.

"What the hell do you think has been happening to me? He keeps attacking me," Tess could tell that he was getting angry. She tried to comfort but suddenly fell over and started to lose consciousness, Vincent felt the same feeling, and so did Cloud. All three of them fell unconscious. The rest of AVALANCHE just sighed and carried them on to the airship. Tess regained consciousness long enough so that she could walk to Vincent's room. She crawled into his bed and wrapped her arms around him. All that she saw in her dream was a crimson fire. She hadn't been aware that fire could bleed.

**. . .**

When Vincent finally stirred, he became aware of the eyes that were watching him. He abruptly rolled over and saw that his fears were over rated. Tess smiled at him, but yawned suddenly.

_Where? _thought Vincent.

"We're about twenty minutes away from Edge," she stated. Vincent slowly raised his hand and placed it on her cheek. There was a light knock on the door Vincent reluctantly pulled his hand back. "Come in," she said as she sat up. Cloud slowly walked in and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not insane," he said, his eyes passed between Vincent and Tess.

"Neither are we," she quietly stated.

"Uh….Cloud?" asked the gunman.

"They don't believe me. I saw him though. S-Sephiroth is back…" the blond shook his head. There was another knock on the door, but this time Tess didn't answer it. Reno walked in and placed his hands on his hips.

"So what's this about Sephiroth?" asked the red-head.

"Everyone's coming back," stated Vincent. Reno's eyebrows rose slightly.

"We need to stop them," Cloud clenched his fists.

"I think I might know where their 'hideout' might be, yo."

"'Hideout'?" Tess's eyebrows also rose.

"I can't go there, cuz they'll kill me, but 'everyone' might be meeting at the old/new Shinra building yo."

"Can you show us, Reno?" inquired Vincent.

"Mm-hm, but I can only get so close."

"It's decided then," Cloud stood up. Vincent and Tess silently agreed on their plan.

"Let's go," Vincent stood up and the four of them made their way to the main deck of the airship.

**. . .**

"There it is," said Reno as he pointed to an ominous tall building. "And this is as far as I can go," he pointed to the spot in which he was standing. "Good Luck!" he saluted and ran off back to Edge.

"Ready?" asked the spiky haired mess that was Cloud Strife. Vincent and Tess nodded and they headed towards their destination.

**A/N: ****Again, I'm sorry that everyone had to wait so long! But I really do hope that reviews will be written, please! I really do appreciate every single on that gets written, and anonymous reviews are also welcome! ****I hope you enjoyed, see you next chapter!**


	15. Fallen Soldier

**A/N:**** Sorry that it's been a while…I've been really busy. But I hope you enjoy this chapter – and the rest of the story ;) – and please REVIEW! I need feedback do that I can finish the story!**

"Hey, is Chaos alright?" Tess asked in her mind. Vincent looked over at her, the demon slowly stood up in the back of his head.

"I'm fine!" he yelled, Vincent winced slightly from the noise.

"Chaos!" he tried to quiet the demon, but Chaos just shook his head,

"Sorry, that lightning really messed me up! sigh So, what are we doing?

"We are about to advance on our enemies," stated Tess.

"Oh," Chaos raised his eyebrows, or rather his _version_ of eyebrows. "What enemies?"

"You'll see," said Tess. Chaos's wings twitched.

"What?"

"It'll be fine," Vincent closed his eyes and sighed.

**. . .**

"That's a big building." Tess's eyes grew wide.

"So plan is to go to the top then," Cloud said as he fidgeted with his sword.

"Until we find our enemies," Vincent said as all three of them stared at the broken-down doorway in front of them.

"Let's go," Tess sad while she lead them through the dangerous opening. Meanwhile back at the 7th Heaven, a dark, mysterious figure wandered into the bar.

"Sweet! You guys sell drinks here!" the figure exclaimed like a happy small child. Tifa who had been washing a glass, froze and stared at the figure.

It was definitely a man; he had a black cloak that swirled around him. A mask that was smoking with darkness hung around his neck. His skin was pale, yet at the same time it was shadowy.

This man was clad in darkness.

Tifa tensed and waited for an attack, but the man simply sat down on one of the stools and smiled at her.

"I'd like a root beer, please," he said.

"Uh sir, this is a bar. We don't sell soda here."

"What! No pop? Aw man…I knew this was going to happen!" he said as tears started to fall from his eyes.

"Whoa!" Tifa jumped back, this man was definitely crazy. "Hey, Reno! Can you come in here?" The redhead slowly walked in.

"'sup?" he inquired. Tifa merely motioned to the sobbing man with her head. _Why does she always assume that I'm like these people?_ He thought as he rolled his eyes. The shadowed man looked up, taking a deep breath as he did so.

"This kinda stuff always happens to me, nobody at work ever talks to me, everyone else runs away from me, I haven't had a cupcake in two weeks, I get these dumb orders to destroy the world, when I was eight my wolf ate my llama, and nobody around here sells root beer!" he said in a loud cry. He continued to cry and sobbed loudly. Tifa and Reno stared at each other in odd horror.

**. . .**

"How many stairs could there possibly be in this stupid building?" Tess shouted in her mind.

"6,224," stated Vincent in his. She looked up at him with slight confusion. "I used to work here." She nodded and kept climbing but stopped on step number 2,264.

"Do you hear something?" she asked aloud. All three of them stopped and listened. Their eyes all landed on the same door. Cloud silently walked over to it and placed his hand on it. Vincent and Tess stood in battle stances. As Cloud opened the door a hand reached from it and grabbed him. "Cloud!" yelled Tess as she and Vincent ran after the blond. The door slammed shut behind them. The room was completely dark. "It'd be nice if there was a light," said Tess as a sudden spark flickered and the whole entire room was light. They were surrounded by dark soldiers. They were everywhere. _Well crap….._ thought Tess as she attempted to count them, but a knife whizzed through the air and would've connected with her face had she not ducked at the last second

Vincent shot at the soldier but got tackled by another. Cloud sliced through the two shadows that were holding him down. Tess flipped and jumped around the room, slicing, cutting, and stabbing all who tried to stop her. They continued their fight, taking out most of the soldiers as they did so. Back in a room located in the second highest floor of the tower, a few figures stood in a misshaped circle.

"They're not slowing down," stated one of them.

"I'll go down there, that should stop them," said another as he began to walk out the door, but one of the other figures stopped him.

"Drak don't fail me now."

"I won't," said the figure that had been walking out the door. The other figure nodded and let him pass. Down at the other level of the building, the heated battle was coming to a close. There were three soldiers left. Right as Tess was about to deliver the final blow, a door on the other side of the room opened. A dark figure walked through it and Tess froze.

"You!" she shouted as she pointed at him. Vincent looked up at the realization. The dark figure was the one who had taken her before. The dark man laughed quietly.

"Our fight was interrupted before, it ends today." He stood in a battle stance that was much like hers. Vincent was about to stop him, but Tess thrust her arm in front of him.

"He's right," she said in her mind. "It's our fight."

She ran at the man then, pulling out two small knives as she did so. The man pulled out a peculiar looking black sword and leaped into the air. Cloud and Vincent continued to fend off the other shadowed soldiers.

"What is that guy's name?" Chaos wondered in Vincent's mind.

"It's Drak," Tess stated coldly in hers. Drak smiled as he threw her into a wall where she jumped a rolled across the floor to dodge his lethal attack.

"Who is he?" Cloud asked as he slashed a soldier in half.

"He's their leader," Vincent said as he motioned to the few remaining soldiers. "He controls them." They continued to fend off the others. Tess and Drak leaped at the same time and they collided in the air. It seemed as if time had frozen for that moment. They both landed on their feet, and it was as if both attacks had failed. But as blood began to flow from a gash across Tess's cheek, the truth was revealed.

Drak suddenly fell to his knees, and let out a terrible cry. He pulled back his cloak and revealed that a small knife was protruding from his chest, piercing his heart. He kept breathing in large gulps.

"That man should be dead right now," Chaos stated. The room suddenly grew very dim, Tess gulped and backed away.

"You failed me." Vincent tensed at the sound of the dark voice. Omega slowly walked from the shadows and placed a hand on Drak's neck. He lifted up and stared at the trembling form. "You said that you and your puppets could stop her."

"You h-have no idea how s-strong she is," Drak coughed out. Omega squeezed his throat harder. Dark smoke began to come off of Drak, Tess's eyes widened in a mix of horror and anger.

"You, how….how dare you use him as a puppet!" she screamed as she ran at Omega. Vincent tried to stop her, but she jumped at the last second and kept charging at the demon. Omega sneered and disappeared which caused Drak to fall to the ground. She knelt next to him. "It wasn't you, it was him, he was controlling you." Drak pulled a chain from his neck and hung it around Tess's neck.

"Please p-promise me that you'll kill him," Drak said. A tear slid down her cheek that didn't have a gash.

"I will." Drak smiled slightly. "Look for her, the ancient, she'll give you the light that Omega stole, and your sins will all be forgiven," said Tess as she placed her hand on his forehead. The lifestream swirled around him and he and all of the dark soldiers disappeared. Tess looked at the chain that he had given her. It had a circular shaped charm that came to a point to form a cone with thin gouges all over it. It was dark grey, and at the top of the charm there was a deep blue jewel. Vincent slowly walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She began to sob.

"Omega will pay for this." Tess had a new glint in her eyes. A mixture of pain, rage, and sudden understanding formed thin crimson lines that pulsated through her pupils.

"What…..just happened?" inquired Cloud.

"He used him, Omega used him!" Tess screamed as she suddenly leaped at the door that Omega had used.

Vincent grabbed her and held her back. "No, I have to get him!" she yelled. A weird voice floated through his head, issuing a command. Vincent let go of her, and she bolted to the door.

"Vincent, what are you doing?" Cloud said slightly shocked.

"I don't know," he responded bewildered. They both shook their heads and chased after Tess. "Wait! Don't just head straight into a fight like that!" Vincent shouted in his head.

"I have to stop him before he hurts anyone else," replied Tess as she began to slow down. Vincent and Cloud caught up with her and halted. They were at the last door of the stairwell. "This is it," she stated in her mind as she placed her hand on the door knob. They burst through the door and readied for battle.

"Good to see you, Cloud," Sephiroth greeted coldly.

"Welcome, everyone." Rufus walked over to the silver-haired man. Two figures stood in the background, waiting to make their appearance.

**A/N:**** REVIEW! Please? ** **I do hope that you enjoyed! And never fear I have more to write, and I should hopefully do it in a timely manner. See you next time! **

**P.S. ****REVIEW****!**


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